The National Hunt season kicked up a few gears over the weekend of November 1-2. Despite the dry weather and fast ground, leading trainers and owners decided that meetings at Wetherby and Down Royal were the ideal destinations for their stars to make their 2025/26 bow.
But for those with aspirations of running at the Cheltenham Festival next March, the weekend turned out to be something of a mixed bag.
Golden Ace Having a Mare
One of the most cherished races at the March meeting is the Champion Hurdle, which was won in somewhat surprising fashion by Golden Ace in 2025.
She made her return at Wetherby on November 1, where she suffered a considerable defeat – that saw the ante post horse racing betting market for the 2026 Champion Hurdle change accordingly, with Golden Ace eased out to 50/1 from 20/1.
The long-range horse racing tips columns will no doubt be backing the horse that defeated her at Wetherby, Kateira, for the Mares’ Hurdle at next year’s edition of the Cheltenham Festival.
Dan Skelton’s eight-year-old, a 2/1 underdog in a two-horse race against Golden Ace, travelled much better than the Champion Hurdle winner, making all the running and winning by a mammoth 28 lengths.
Kateira claims Listed honours in the @bet365 Mares’ Hurdle for @DSkeltonRacing pic.twitter.com/fnROVglepc
— Wetherby Racecourse (@WetherbyRaces) November 1, 2025
On the same Wetherby card, Djelo returned to form with an eye-catching win in the Charlie Hall Chase.
The seven-year-old seemed to enjoy the fast ground as, despite a few jumping errors, he was able to head Pic D’Orhy on the home straight and land Grade 2 glory for Venetia Williams.
Djelo, now a four-time winner at Grade 2 level, has been trimmed from 66/1 to 33/1 in the betting for the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2026.
By Royal Appointment
The November card at Down Royal is an early season highlight for Irish jumps racing. In the Kildress Plumbing Chase, Firefox looked tremendously strong when landing the Grade 2 renewal in storming fashion.
Jack Kennedy kept the rest of the field in his sights through the 19-furlong trip, before kicking for home after a big jump from Firefox at the last – the seven-year-old responded to his jockey’s efforts to win by a comfortable four-and-a-quarter length margin from Gorgeous Tom.
Gordon Elliott’s horse seemed to take a step backwards last season after impressing as a hurdler in 2023/24; perhaps an extra year of maturity will help Firefox find his best over the big fences? Either way, he’s been well supported in the market for the Ryanair Chase already.
Firefox captures the G2 Kildress Plumbing Chase for @gelliott_racing 🏆 pic.twitter.com/RidR4wPFyp
— Down Royal Racecourse (@Downroyal) November 1, 2025
The highlight of that early November weekend was the Down Royal Champion Chase, which pitched the likes of Found a Fifty, Western Fold and Envoi Allen against one another.
Somewhat surprisingly, it was the outsider of the three – Envoi Allen – that prevailed, with the eleven-year-old making a mockery of his advancing years to win the Grade 1 renewal by more than three lengths.
Although little will be expected of Henry de Bromhead’s veteran this term, it was notable that Found a Fifty – who finished fourth of five at Down Royal – has weakened from 50/1 to 100/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
How else will the ante post markets for the Cheltenham Festival be affected in the weeks ahead?